


Unexpected Homecoming

by plentymore



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mentions of Sex (not eplicit), Open Relationships, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Queer Character, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 21:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30044874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plentymore/pseuds/plentymore
Summary: Jaemin and you have been dating for two years and a pleasant routine has settled over the relationship. You couldn’t be happier, right?
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Reader, Na Jaemin/Reader, Original Character/Reader
Kudos: 1





	Unexpected Homecoming

The heat of Seoul is overwhelming in August. The sun is unwavering and unmerciful. A decision is unanimously made via group chat that Saturday will be spent at the pool.

Doyoung rents out a pool, Seulgi agrees to bring drinks, Taeil pizza, and you commit to buying fruit. The rest cheekily agree to bring themselves.

***

Friday night finds you rushing around trying to find hydrating fruits. Once home, you struggle not to drop the bag on your shoulder and the huge watermelon held against your chest. There’s the ding of an incoming message and you roll your eyes as you imagine Mark is once against texting you not to forget the watermelon.

You’ve barely set everything down when you hear the password being pinned in and the door being pulled open. 

“Y/n, you home?”

“Mm, I’m in the kitchen.”

Jaemin appears from the corner, a slight frown marring his features.

“You should’ve waited for me. It must have been difficult to carry all that by yourself.”

“It’s fine! Plus, the later it gets, the fuller the markets get.”

“Still.”

“Ah, Jaemin, it’s fine. Here, how about you help me cut the bigger fruits in advance while I wash the rest.”

He gives up his scolding easily and goes to grab a knife. He begins to cut, the rhythmic chopping matching the fall of the water as you wash the fruits.

After such a difficult beginning, you like this, this routine Jaemin and you have developed after two years. You smile to yourself as you finish leaving the smaller fruits to dry and join him in cutting the larger fruits into bite-sized pieces. Jaemin smiles at you cheekily and you smile back, already knowing what is coming. He clears his throat and begins to tell you the latest office gossip. 

It’s late when you finish cutting and you urge Jaemin to shower first while you pack everything into containers for tomorrow. By the time you finish packing, he’s already fallen asleep, his hair still wet.

***

The morning greets you with a slit of light that peeks through the shutters. You rise slowly, trying to disentangle yourself from Jaemin without waking him. 

The bag is all packed with fruits and additional Sunny Day Supplies, as Jaemin calls them. You lug them onto your shoulder and set off. Jaemin will meet you at the pool after sleeping in. You hadn’t agreed to it, and he’d probably scold you for it later, but he needed to rest and you needed to get there quickly or face Doyoung’s certain wrath.

***

You arrive earlier than Doyoung. While inconvenient, you know that earlier than him means you’ll avoid any nagging, so you set the towel you’d brought for Jaemin and sit down outside the pool gate to wait, sneaking a few pieces of kiwi while you’re at it. Taeil and Doyoung arrive together, the two boys greeting you enthusiastically and peeking into the containers excitedly. 

“Do you mind opening the gate first?”

“Ah. Sorry,” says Doyoung between a mouthful of strawberry.

As you set everything up, the others begin to arrive. Somewhere behind you, you hear Seulgi defending herself when Doyoung insists she has no respect for time. As the last of our group begins to trickle in, the morning shifts to afternoon and the sun flys overhead, warming the pool. Jaemin arrives then, his eyes still betraying his exhaustion. You pat his behind soothingly and give him a quick kiss.

“Have some snacks, play a bit, and then come nap with me, okay?” 

“Mm. That sounds nice.”

Behind you, Mark’s excited giggles betray his arrival.

“Y/n, you remembered!” 

He is nearly slobbering at the sight of the watermelon. Yuta sits next to him, munching on pizza and watching his friend with a mixture of fondness and disgust.

“I bet you texted her all night so she wouldn’t forget,” Johnny says.

“Did not!” Mark retorts. Pieces of the watermelon he’d stuffed in his mouth landing on Wendy who sits in front of him. I can see her trying her best not to grab his head right off his neck and send it flying into the pool.

Jaemin tries to hold his laugh as he hands her a napkin. Johnny and Yuta laugh without remorse.

***

The sky above has turned pink, foreshadowing the departure of the sun. Turning your gaze from the sky, you watch your friends and boyfriend playing in the pool. On your lap, Jisung shifts and whines in his sleep until you continue threading your fingers through his hair. He’d only lasted three rounds of Marco Polo before falling asleep with his head atop your legs. The fond smile that creeps onto your face is inevitable. 

When you turn back to the pool, Jaemin’s got Chenle in a headlock, the younger boy struggling to escape while letting out ear-piercing screams. The fond smile stretches wider on your lips. Just like you are grateful for the routine Jaemin and you have created, you are grateful for your friendship with everyone here. There had been a point, at the beginning of your relationship with Jaemin, when the whole group seemed on the verge of collapse. He’d been infatuated with someone else. Someone that had been the most precious person in your life, Sujin. She had that effect on everyone, her beauty was radiant and enchanting. But you and Jaemin seemed to be especially drawn to it, except unlike you, Jaemin had space for no one but her. Eventually, she’d left and the tension in the group dissipated. Little by little Jaemin began to hold space for others. You missed her.

Taeyong manages to separate the two, and Jaemin quickly clambers out of the pool, rushing over to the towel at your feet. 

“Jisung,” he says.

The young boy ignores him, despite the obvious pause in his breathing that betrays he is awake. You giggle and continue petting him. 

“Jisung. I want to cuddle too.”

“Hyung, please. I want sleep.”

“That’s fine. You sleep, I sleep, Y/n sleeps. Hmm? How about that? How about a group cuddle?” 

“Ah, hyung!” He says, getting off as Jaemin begins to wedge himself next to him. 

Your boyfriend laughs as he watches the other boy stomp off, probably looking for Joy to see if she’ll continue your ministrations. Meanwhile, the man with his head on your lap is looking up at you with a mischievous smile. You raise an eyebrow and he winks before closing his eyes and puckering his lips like a child.

“What?” You say.

“Kiss.”

You laugh.

“Kiss, Y/n.”

“No, your lips are dry and probably taste like bleach.”

“Are you saying that if I were a fish you wouldn’t kiss me?”

“Fish don’t live in bleached water.”

“So this is about the bleach...”

“You know about bleach.”

“Bleach and you really need to learn to get along.”

“Bleach and I have a long history.”

“Really, what is that?”

You pause, trying to figure out what absurd story about bleach you can make up now that Jaemin wants to play along.

“Y/n?”

“Well, if you must know–“ you let out an exaggerated sigh as if this is the most difficult thing you’ve ever had to confess. “Bleach and I, we used to get along. It was always Bleach, Pledge, Windex, and I. They used to call me Pine-Sol back then.”

“Really? I never knew that about you.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“So then, what happened?” He tries not to laugh, his expectant eyes watching you.

“Well, everything changed when Bleach attacked.”

“This is sounding oddly familiar.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Y/n. This is a very bad look on you, you can’t just plagiarize the plot of Avatar because you don’t want to give me a kiss.”

“Avatar has blue people in it, which I never mentioned. You’re very confused.”

“Ah! Look at you playing innocent.”

You stare at him, grinning in an attempt to cover-up. But all your silence earns is having him close his eyes and pucker his lips again.

“Kiss.”

You laugh and quickly lean down to kiss him. When you try to come back up, Jaemin grabs onto your head and deepens the kiss. 

Someone knocks on the gate and it is opened. You’re aware of it but too distracted by your boyfriend to look up. That is until the silence of the group becomes pronounced and you force Jaemin to let go.

You hadn’t gone into the pool once, but it feels like you’ve fallen face-first onto the water.

She stands there as she had two years ago. Her smile is tentative and aimed at you, and it fills you with wonder and dread simultaneously. 

You feel the weight of Jaemin’s head leave your lap, and you turn to him as he shifts a bit to see what’s got everyone so quiet. 

It is like watching the reflection of you in his eyes die, followed closely by the rebirth of Sujin.

You are tempted to grab your bag and go. Exit through the same door she had just entered, but instead, you excuse yourself to the bathroom. Jaemin doesn’t seem to hear you or your steps as you retreat. 

Seulgi and Doyoung find you standing in the middle of the bathroom, at a loss.

“Y/n.”

“Mm.”

“We’re sorry.”

“For what?”

“We just... we know how much you’ve missed her, and how much she’s missed you.”

“Did you call her here?”

Their silence speaks for them.

“I’m not mad.”

“Are you sure?”

“How could I be mad? I’m– at a loss. It was easy to pretend he made a choice, that _he_ made _me_ his choice. It was just a surprisingly harsh reminder.”

“Y/n, she wants to talk to you.”

Once more, you’re at a loss.

“Is it okay, for her to talk to you?” 

You nod.

***

Since you were both young, she had been incomparable and irreplaceable. She had said the same thing about you, and despite your doubts at the beginning, you eventually believed it. In each other’s company, you had learned what it meant to be invincible. Together you had learned the type of love you loved.

Then you’d met Jaemin. He’d mesmerized you. Despite your dedication, he had only ever held Sujin. She had tried to coax him, but he’d been insistent that she was the one for him.

“We just have to be patient with him, Sujin.”

“These things cannot be forced Y/n.”

“But he’s...”

“He’s not gonna change his mind.”

A week later, she announced she’d been offered a position at Girls Incorporated Publishing. She moved across the world before the month was over. Jaemin had taken some time, but he eventually found his way to your bed and had not left since.

***

Sujin enters the bathroom, her sneakers squeak against the tiled floor and she blushes a bit. Embarrassment was always such a pretty look on her.

“Sujin.”

She watches you, and you can’t help the heat that begins to claw its way through your body. It’s the same, the exact same.

“You’re the same,” she says, reading your thoughts.

“So are you.”

“Y/n... please let me hug you.”

You nod and she clumsily embraces you, almost knocking the both of you over. You steady yourselves and hold each other closer. You breathe her in and hear her do the same.

“You smell like pool.”

You laugh.

“But I can still smell you, right under your ear.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You smell the same. My favourite smell.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You feel her lips press against your pulse, and you’re about to move away when her wet mouth opens like a cavern to let out a loud sob. She buries herself deeper, your neck quickly housing her suffering.

“I missed you so much!” It is hard to make out the muffled words, but you do, and it feels like an anxious finger ripping a scab. The wound is fresh again.

“I missed you too, so much.”

It dawns on you then, that perhaps Sujin hadn’t left because she’d been offered a job.

“Sujin.”

“Y/n.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Do you still believe he can be coaxed?” It is not an answer.

During your two year relationship, Jaemin had never requested your permission to date someone else. He had never come home smelling like someone else, and he never said anything when you did. When you asked for his permission, he would nod, but never look you in the eye. Attempts to bring anyone in and create a three-person dynamic ended in hurtful words and agonizing nights. You’d stopped dating others by the sixth month into your relationship. Jaemin was visibly happier. 

“Are you still working with Girls Incorporated?”

“Yes, but they moved me here. They opened an office in Paju two months ago.”

“Did you leave because of them or because of him?”

“Because of you.”

You take a step back, wrenching yourself away from her. Her hair sticks to her wet face.

“You wanted to be with him, Y/n.”

“Not without you.”

“But you are!”

“That’s only because you left!”

“So what? Now that I’m back you won’t?”

“I...”

“Jaemin won’t change his mind. I know he won’t, and I know you know that.”

“Jaemin can’t be changed, but I...”

“Seulgi told me that you’re not seeing anyone besides Jaemin.”

“That’s my business.”

“You’re happy?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

You are both quiet for a long time. Eventually, she pulls her hair away from her face and wipes the tears away. There is a hardness to her that is only present when the two of you talk about Jaemin. 

The door to the bathroom opens and Doyoung and Seulgi’s heads pop in.

“Y’all okay? Yeri says she really needs to use the toilet.”

“It’s fine, tell her to come in.” Sujin says and then leaves, leaving the door wide open. Outside the bathroom, everyone is gathered. Jaemin is nowhere to be seen. You run after her, almost knocking Yeri over, but she’s already left, the iron door of the pool creaking loudly. 

Jaemin is sitting where you’d left him, his head in his hands.

You love him, you tell yourself. He has been good to you. He has loved you, he has cared. He has tried his best.

“Jaemin.”

He looks up, his eyes already hurting.

“Jaemin, we should stop.”

“I’ve let you be with others. I never said no unless you wanted me to also be involved.”

“You don’t like it.”

“I– it’s okay. You like it. If you want it it’s fine.”

It is hard to find the words to explain to him why it’s not fine.

“Jeno!” He yells suddenly, making you jump. Jeno emerges from inside, and Jaemin signals for him to join. Fear forms at the pit of your stomach.

Jeno nears us, and you can read the same fear you inhabit in his eyes as he senses the tension between the two of you. Jaemin grabs his arm and pulls him down so he’s squatting beside you and you’re both forced to look up into your boyfriend’s eyes.

“You can date him, Y/n.”

“Jaemin.” The fear is replaced with anger. Silent but deadly. It can be heard in your voice, but Jaemin continues.

“He was the first one you mentioned when we got together, you like him. Date him, Y/n. I won’t stop you. It’s fine with me.”

Jeno is speechless.

“I would have to ask Jeno first,” you try to throw the other boy a reassuring smile, “you can’t give him away to me.”

“Jeno, do you want to date Y/n?”

“I-uh–”

“It’s fine to say yes, I won’t mind, I promise.”

Jeno had been the first person you suggested be incorporated into your relationship and the one Jaemin most strongly voiced his rejection of. At the time you thought it could have been because he didn’t like men, or because it was his best friend. Eventually, you realized neither was the problem. After spending the whole night fighting, you had gone on to date Jeno for six months before you broke it off.

“It always felt like cheating.”

“What?”

“With you, Jaemin.”

“I said it was okay.”

“But it always felt like I was doing something wrong. I was hurting you.”

“You weren’t.”

“Jeno, you should go.” You say to your friend, and he nods quickly before retreating inside with the rest of the group.

“Did you sleep with him already?”

“Jaemin, what are you saying?”

“Was he one of the ones you dated during those first six months?”

“Let’s go. How about that, hmm? How about we have this conversation at home?”

“Did you date him?”

You try to pull him up, feeling bad for everyone who is trapped inside due to you and Jaemin, but he doesn’t budge.

“Did you?”

“Yes.”

His jaw tightens.

“Jaemin, let’s talk elsewhere.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Then let’s stop here.”

He is silent for a long time. The sky above darkens completely and the lights at the poolside automatically come on. The water looks prettier this way, illuminated by the warm tones. You think of the past two years with Jaemin, of the things the both of you had to sacrifice in order to not hurt one another. Of the people you didn’t get to love, of the people you did and hurt. You think of Jaemin flinching every time you talked about someone, constantly afraid that you’d say you wanted to be with them. 

“Jaemin, I love you. So please, let’s stop.”

“Okay.” He says it in a long exhale. 

You feel the tension and anger in your stomach unknot and your body sags. Relief.

“I’ll go home first, to get my things. I’ll text you when I’m done. Don’t come home until I text you. It’s better for me this way.”

You nod and he stands, retreating beyond the door and into the velvety night.

The group slowly emerges, and you laugh awkwardly while apologizing.

“Ah, Y/n, you did well,” Jungwoo says as he hugs you tightly, lifting you off the ground and somehow, without you noticing, dropping you into the pool.

“Jungwoo, you little shit! I am fully clothed!”

Everyone laughs and jumps in after the two of you, laughing and chatting once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Not completely satisfied with this story due to the pacing. I originally wanted to make it a 500-word story, but that obviously didn’t work out. Even now, it seems too short. Anyway, I signed up for a collaboration in an attempt to challenge myself with unfamiliar writing perspectives and genres. I’ve never written romance, nor have I written something from a READER perspective. I want the collaboration to not be a total bust, so this is my practice!  
> Please leave feedback. Some things that would be helpful would be knowing whether the story is easy to follow, whether the perspective seems awkward or if the romance is too cringe. Anything else you can think of, please let me know!  
> Lots of love ♡


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